Why Rent from Knetbooks?

Because Knetbooks knows college students. Our rental program is designed to save you time and money. Whether you need a textbook for a semester, quarter or even a summer session, we have an option for you. Simply select a rental period, enter your information and your book will be on its way!

The primary goal of World Civilizations is to present a TRULY GLOBAL HISTORYone that both discusses the development of the world's leading civilizations and also emphasizes the major stages in the interactions among different peoples and societies. World Civilizations examines all the world's civilizations, including those in the Western tradition but also those civilizations sometimes neglected in world history textsfor example, the nomadic societies of Asia, Latin America, and the nations and states of the Pacific Rim. World Civilizations balances this discussion of independent developments in all the world's major civilizations with comparative analysis of the results of international contact. World Civilizations organizes its presentation of global history into SIX COHERENT TIME PERIODS, with each period defined by the new and parallel patterns that evolved among all or most civilizations during the particular era. The six periods correspond to the six parts of the book. Within each part, the authors identify specific themes that characterize common experiences or common forces in individual societies as well as the new kinds and patterns of global contacts that emerged during the era. Thus, for example, Part I of the book discusses the developmental stage of world history, including the rise of agriculture and the development of civilization. Part II examines the classical era in global history, an era marked by the integration of large regions and diverse groups of people through overarching cultural and political systems. Subsequent parts of the book continue the emphasis on geographic shifts and the intensification of contact among civilizations.

Detailed Contents

vii

List of Maps

xiii

Preface

xv

Supplements

xxi

Prologue

xxiii

Part 4 The World Shrinks 1450--1750

514

(176)

The Transformation of the West, 1450--1750

522

(20)

The West and the World

542

(22)

The Rise of Russia

564

(16)

Early Latin America

580

(28)

The Muslim Empires

608

(28)

Africa and the Africans in the Age of the Atlantic Slave Trade

636

(26)

Asian Transitions in an Age of Global Change

662

(28)

Part 5 Industrialization and Western Global Hegemony 1750--1914

690

(138)

The Industrialization of the West, 1760--1914

696

(30)

Industrialization and Imperialism: The Making of the European Global Order

726

(1)

The Consolidation of Latin America, 1830--1920

726

(28)

Civilizations in Crisis: The Ottoman Empire, The Islamic Heartlands, and Qing China